Surprisingly, It had been Ieni’s mother who had taken her new hairstyle in a calm stride, simply remarking that the mohawk looked cute and did she need anything from the store.

Parents were weird.

Still, it was nice that there hadn’t been any shouting. Of course, that would probably not be the case when she returned home from her latest bucket list entry. But Ieni was so tired of feeling small and timid. Even if she had good reason to feel wary, she knew that it was holding her down. And she wanted to fly. Which was why she was sitting across from a heavily tattooed and burly man and allowing him to discuss shoving needles into random parts of her body.

“You sure you want to do so many at once?” he asked for a second time, clearly doubting her ability to know her limits.

The girl simply nodded and smiled. She’d spent years silently admiring the piercings of others. She wanted a few more of her own. The piercer gave a nod of his own and turned to set out his tools and the jewelry she’d selected. Ieni closed her eyes, finding it easier to remain brave if she couldn’t actually see the needles.

“This’ll be super quick. You’ll feel a little pinch and it’ll be over,” the voice of the piercer spoke soothingly. “Nose might sting a little, but as long as you don’t jerk around it’ll be fine. Eyebrow first, right?”

“Yes, please.”

The eyebrow was the one that worried her the most for some reason. Still, she repeated the piercer’s advice to herself and forced her muscles to remain relaxed. And, true to his word, all she’d felt was a little pinch and a brief sting as the jewelry was set into place.

“Very good! You barely twitched. Nose next and you’re good to go. Ready?”

Another nod and this time, Ieni winced slightly as a tiny pair of forceps gripped onto her nostril. She heard the piercer making soothing noises and then then a sharp jab that made her hiss, though she was careful not to move. This time, her eyes watered as the jewelry was set. Okay. That one had hurt.

“Y’did real good. Just sit there for a second and we’ll get the blood cleaned up and you can go. Doing all right?”

“I think so. My eyebrow didn’t hurt like that!”

“Eyebrow was essentially just skin, babe. Cartilage works a little different. Here, hold this against your nose. It’ll help soothe it and clean the little bit of blood away. Don’t be surprised if there’s a tiny amount of swelling. That’ll go away in a few hours. Just keep it clean and don’t mess with it, right? Anything that doesn’t seem right, you call me. Don’t try to diagnose yourself or sit and suffer. Got it?”

Laughing a little sheepishly, Ieni assured him that she understood. And really, every minute that passed, the pain lessened. Though it was weird to feel something in her nose and she had to fight the urge to fiddle with it. Presumably, that impulse would also lessen as she grew accustomed to the piercing.

“Here, you got a little blood by your eyebrow too. Let me get that and if you’re good, you can go.”

Sitting patiently, she felt a cool cotton pad gently swipe around her eyebrow and sighed. Thanking the piercer profusely, she stood and reached into her pocket, pulling out a wad of bills that she pressed into the man’s gloved hand. Then, with a smile of thanks, she scampered out of the studio.